7,086: The number of Taunton citizens who voted for Republican Charlie Baker for governor during the 2010 gubernatorial election.

7,278: The number of Taunton citizens who voted for Democrat Deval Patrick for governor in 2010.

3,335: The number of Taunton citizens who voted for Republican candidate Gabriel Gomez during a 2013 special election for U.S. Senate.

3,321: The number of Taunton citizens who voted for Democrat Ed Markey during that special election.

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The Massachusetts Republican Party is targeting Taunton as a key battleground in the upcoming fall election.

Earlier this year, Republicans opened one of its 21 “Massachusetts Victory” field offices on Main Street in Taunton to galvanize conservatives in the area. Massachusetts Republican Party officials said they hope to continue the momentum they have created in the Taunton area in recent years, including the election of two Republican state representatives here after decades of Democratic dominance.

“We have stepped up our ground game here in a very big way,” said Kirsten Hughes, chairwoman of the Massachusetts Republican Party, during a visit to Taunton on Tuesday. “We organized our get-out-the-vote effort nine months before we have done so in the past. And this is what we need to do in order to win. We have shown we can do well and we need to do well. … We are not taking cities like Taunton for granted.”

Hughes said that, generally, Republicans have had strong showings in towns surrounding Taunton, but have faltered to win cities in statewide races. But Republicans have been narrowing the gap in recent statewide elections, coming out on top in some races, despite having only 2,783 registered GOP voters in the city, compared to 10,733 Democrats and 18,396 independent voters.

In 2010, the gubernatorial election results were very close in Taunton, with 7,086 votes for Republican Charlie Baker and 7,278 votes for incumbent Democrat Deval Patrick. Although, state Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton, did coast to another victory during that election, just two years before President Barack Obama captured 60 percent of Taunton’s vote during his 2012 campaign.

In 2013, during a special U.S. Senate election, Republican political newcomer Gabriel Gomez got 14 more votes in Taunton (3,335) than longtime Democratic Rep. Ed Markey (3,321). Scott Brown also took Taunton in 2010 during his U.S. Senate victory over Martha Coakley by more than 2,300 votes in the city, before Democrat Elizabeth Warren beat him in the city by about 600 votes during his failed re-election two years ago.

“I think the tide is turning a bit, but we have a long way to go,” said Jeanne Reid, a Taunton resident who visited the Massachusetts Victory office on Tuesday during a meet-and-greet event held by the party. “Voters aren’t informed. It’s either a popularity contest or an automatic vote for the D.”

The rise of Shaunna O’Connell

The rise of Republicans in the Taunton area in recent years coincides with the emergence of the right-wing Tea Party movement, which formed as a consistent opponent to the national Affordable Care Act. The Taunton Republican City Council now comprises several Tea Party supporters.

State Rep. Shaunna O’Connell, R-Taunton, who was the featured speaker at the Boston Tea Party Rally in April, first won by a margin of 31 votes in 2010 when she ousted Taunton lawyer James Fagan, who had held the 3rd Bristol District seat since 1993. O’Connell became the first Republican elected as the district’s representative since at least 1969.

Page 2 of 4 - “I think that people are really starting to see the Republican Party as the party of the working people,” O’Connell said.

O’Connell pointed to issues like welfare fraud, scandals that have plagued the state’s Democratic administration and corruption cases against the Democratic House majority leadership, as factors that have driven voters to the Republican side. O’Connell also acknowledged that the 2008 election of President Barack Obama may have played a role in energizing conservatives. But in Taunton, where she won two consecutive elections against Democratic opponents, O’Connell also attributed her success to her aggressive door-to-door campaign strategy.

One highlight from that 2010 campaign was an audio greeting card that was credited to O’Connell adviser and Boston Herald columnist Holly Robichaud. When opened, the greeting card played an audio clip of Fagan arguing against Jessica’s Law because it would allow lawyers like him to traumatically cross-examine sexual assault victims. Fagan said in the clip said that, “I’m going to rip them apart,” although Fagan and others said it was hyperbole that was taken out of context to serve as a negative campaign ploy.

O’Connell is now gearing up for her second re-election campaign, running against Independent challenger Keavin Duffy Jr.

In the neighboring 12th Bristol District, which includes parts of East Taunton, Republican state Rep. Keiko Orrall was first elected in 2011 in an area that was typically represented by Democrats for decades. This year, Orrall is running unopposed.

Hughes, the GOP’s state party chairman, gave strong credit to the personal touch and authenticity that O’Connell and Orrall bring along with their campaign.

“The two women you are talking about, Keiko and Shaunna, are exceptional women,” Hughes said. “They have care, concern for the community and a passion for this area that just shows through.”

The Tea Party divide

While she won over the hearts of many Tauntonians during her election and re-election campaigns, O’Connell remains at odds with the Republican House minority leadership. In May, she was among a faction of Republicans who skipped a vote to reaffirm support in House Minority Leader Bradley Jones during a closed-door meeting held in May. The vote of confidence, with 21 of 29 House Republicans re-affirming their support for Jones and zero registering a vote against him, was called after O’Connell’s allies, state Rep. Marc Lombardo of Billerica and state Rep. Jim Lyons of Andover, publicly called for Jones to be removed.

Lyons and Lombardo said Jones failed the taxpayers by going along with the priorities of the Democratic super-majority, instead of offering principled opposition. On the other hand, supporters of Jones claim that O’Connell and the Tea Party faction are just dividing the small minority party and hurting its ability to get desired legislation accomplished among the Democratic super-majority.

Page 3 of 4 - O’Connell’s response to that: “I have always told the people of Taunton and Easton that I work for them, and not for any party,” she said.

O’Connell said last week that she is for change and added that there should be a term limit for minority leadership. Jones has been the minority leader for 11 years, after he was originally elected to the House in 1994. O’Connell also said she was open to succeeding Jones as the minority leader, if she has the support.

“I think change is good in all parties,” O’Connell told the Gazette, when asked about the House minority leadership. “I think when people have been in office for decades that they sometimes become part of the status quo and fail to represent the best interests of all the people.”

But some of the 29 Republican representatives in the House believe that the so-called Tea Party dissension on Beacon Hill is just causing problems for fellow members of the GOP, when they already have to contend with opposition from 127 Democrats.

“We spend more time with infighting than on the greater fight,” said a Republican state representative, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject as election season approaches. “It’s terrible and it’s a terrible waste of time. ‘You’re not conservative enough,’ or, ‘You’re establishment.’ People want to call me that. … I was elected on conservative principles. But at the end of day, when need to do a land transfer bill for my community, I need to have a good relationship with Dems and Republicans. What these guys have done is come in with a flamethrower and say, ‘You’re in with Beacon Hill corruption.’”

The mainstream Republican state representative also questioned why O’Connell, for all of her Tea Party credentials, voted in support of the hike to the minimum wage this year.

“Hands down, every business group was against that,” he said. “Certainly, there is no support from the Tea Party for that bill, and that was one of the most damaging.”

O’Connell acknowledged her associations with the Tea Party, but said she doesn’t always march in lockstep with the movement.

“I will always do what’s right for the people I represent and never be beholden to anyone,” O’Connell said. “I feel that people are pleased with my views and my work and my stance on standing up when it’s the hard thing.”

United front for election

Massachusetts Republican Party leadership said that the infighting is overblown, and that at the end of the day, the party will be united when it comes to electing Republican nominee Charlie Baker for governor and getting more Republicans in office throughout the state.

Page 4 of 4 - “Internal squabbles happen all the time on both sides of the aisle,” said Hughes, the state GOP chairwoman. “Certainly, Democrats have more factions than any other party in this state that don’t agree, and they air their disagreements publicly. We’re a family and a smaller family, so our squabbles are a little bit more intense because we have a smaller group of Republicans. … But at the end of the day, I know we will be united to add more Republican voices on Beacon Hill and to get Charlie Baker elected governor.”

Hughes said that while tactics may differ among Republicans on Beacon Hill, they all know that adding more Republican legislators will allow the party to better challenge the Democratic stronghold.

“The Democrats stifle debate at every turn,” Hughes said. “A Democratic super majority is unhelpful to the citizens of Massachusetts. The only way to change Beacon Hill is to send someone else there.”

Scott Rodrigues, vice chairman of the Taunton Republican City Committee, agreed with Hughes. Rodrigues said the Republicans must unite this fall to challenge the one-party rule, “so we don’t wind up with the gas tax” and similar tax increases.

“We have to stay united and focus on our mission, otherwise we wind up with the gas tax and all that type of stuff,” Rodrigues said. “I think you see dissension in any kinds of rank, whether the Republican Party or any party. Hopefully, after the Sept. 9 primary, all of us Republicans come together and go on the mission for Nov. 4, to get as many Republicans elected as possible, whether that be a Tea Party candidate or, I guess you call it, a traditional Republican.”

Orrall said the failures of the past eight years of the Patrick administration, the scandals that have plagued the Democratic party and the frustration of the working class about “the entitlement” welfare system will lead more voters to the right his fall.

“I think that people are working and trying to just get by at this point in our area,” Orrall said. “When they see the government taking more and more of their hard earned money, it’s difficult to understand why that’s necessary when we don’t see the direct benefit.”

Orrall said she thinks that the Republican message is resounding in the Taunton area in recent years because the party promotes limited government and fiscal responsibility.

“People understand I have to make my budget work,” Orrall said. “I can’t keep coming back for more money. We understand government has a role to play and we all have to chip in to be part of society, but we have to work within our means.”